STUFFED OKRA BOATS
An attractive, tasty and unusual hors d'oeuvre. Though Italians rarely, if ever, cook with okra, these Stuffed Okra Boats taste Italian.
20 okra pods
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for jellyroll pan
1 shallot, chopped fine
1/2 cup tomato, chopped fine
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (see NOTE)
1/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Using a sharp knife, cut off the tops of the okra pods. Reserve 8 tops. Discard the rest or use for another recipe. Using a grapefruit spoon, remove the interior of the pods, being careful not to rip the pods. This is fussy work and somewhat time-consuming. Reserve the interior membranes and set the pods aside.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Finely chop the reserved pod tops and interior membranes. Blanch for about 30 seconds in boiling water to which you have added the sherry. Drain. Shock in ice water. Set aside.
In a medium frying pan, heat the butter and the oil. Saute the shallot until it's translucent, a minute or two. Add the blanched okra and the tomato. Cook over low heat for a few minutes to soften. The okra will turn slimy. Turn the heat up to medium, and add the wine to deglaze the pan. Let the alcohol cook off, which will take a few minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs; they will absorb much of the okra "juice." Taste. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper.
Stuff the pods with the bread-crumb-vegetable mixture, mounding slightly. Lightly coat a jellyroll pan with olive oil and place the pods in it. Bake for 15 or 20 minutes.
NOTE: You can make your own seasoned bread crumbs. Remove the crusts from stale white bread. Process the bread in a food processor until it makes crumbs. Season with dried parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, whatever grabs your fancy. Stir in 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese for each 1 cup of crumbs. Makes 20 pods.
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